Comfort Food – How to Make it Healthy & 10 Recipes to Try

Autumn is all about cosiness, lighting a fire, warm heavy knitwear, hot chocolate with marshmallows and snuggling on the sofa binge watching box sets. I’m all over autumn comfort because I’m a comfort kind of girl at heart, so I’m over the moon that it’s finally here!

Darker evenings and colder temperatures make us want to instantly reach for our favourite comfort foods. There’s nothing better that tucking into a hearty warm meal after a stressful day or a long walk. Comfort food is all about indulgence and feeling cosy, like a great big hug from your food – don’t you just love this time of year?

The food that we eat is heavily connected to our emotions so it’s no surprise that we turn to heavier meals in autumn to make us feel all snuggly inside and can even help improve our mood. I don’t see any problem at all with eating the food that you enjoy. In fact, I think we should be less scared and do more of it because it helps to nourish the soul and there shouldn’t be any feelings of guilt or self-hate in doing so.

Being healthy doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy these heavier starchy foods that are common in autumn. You can indulge and dive right in, but also find some level of balance that works for you by being more selective with the ingredients you use and making healthy swaps to make your favourite comfort foods lighter and healthier. The 80/20 rule works so well for my body, I get to feast on plentiful of amounts of healthy foods, but also indulge in naughtier treats too. This is message is key and something that I constantly tell some of the ladies that email me asking for advice.

So, if you think that being healthy rules out delicious and hearty comfort food then I’ve got you covered. Below, I’ve listed a couple of my favourite ways to either make comfort food healthier or alternatives that taste just as good, but are lighter on the calories.

Pizza

There aren’t many people who don’t love a pizza and I’m definitely in the ‘HELL YES!’ camp. To lighten things up or to inject more nutrition into your pizza, try creating a crust using vegetables, like these Low Carb Aubergine (Eggplant) Pizza bases.

Shepherd’s Pie

All that fluffy mashed potato is delicious, but you can get far more nutrition into your shepherd’s pie by swapping it for a root vegetable mash or sweet potato mash instead.

Cream

As delicious as sauces made with cream can be they’re not the healthiest. You could use less than the recipe calls for and add more stock or use something like full-fat Greek yoghurt to add a lighter creaminess to your meals.

Apple Pie

Mmmm…such a British classic! Why not swap all of that pastry for a baked apple with honey, raisins and cinnamon on top and serve with single cream or full-fat Greek yoghurt?

Casserole with Dumplings

OK, so it’s kind of hard to make a dumpling healthy and for it still taste the same. However, you could bulk up your casserole with lots of lovely vegetables to give it a healthy boost.

Pasta

I love pasta, but sometimes it can leave me feeling bloated if I eat too much. Courgetti is a great gluten-free alternative that is so quick and easy to make too.

Why not give these healthier comforting savoury and sweet recipes a try that don’t compromise on flavour?

Slow Cooked Shetland Lamb Casserole With Creamy Herbed Polenta via

Slow Cooker Baked Beans via

Hidden Veg Meatballs via

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie via

Blackberry Tofu Brulee via

Eggplant Parmigiana Shakshuka via

One Pot Vietnamese Beef Stew via

Spicy Vegetable Goulash via

Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew via

Feel Good Fish Curry via

Next time you’re craving comfort from your food this autumn, try to make some of these healthy swaps or recipes to help make your favourite comfort foods that bit healthier. Don’t be scared to make things from scratch and experiment to make your comfort meals more balanced – it’s all part of the fun when it comes to food!

What’s your favourite comforting meal? How do you make your comforting meals healthier?

I suppose it depends what you derive comfort from? I’m a huge fan of curries and pulses which need not have added fat but are very warming in the cooler months (not that this puts me off eating them in the summer either!!)Sarah, Maison Cupcake recently posted…

I’m going to go against the grain here and admit that I am one of the very few people out there that doesn’t like pizza BUT I do like to make Pizzas for my husband and friends so definitely going to try your suggestion next time. And the blackberry brulee looks amazing!!

love love love this post. I have just made protein balls which help with my sweet cravings but give me the boost i need and no processed sugars. I love the look of the eggplant pizzasAngela recently posted…

Let’s Connect!

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

ARCHIVES

You can find out more about which s we are using or switch them off in settings.

Privacy Overview

This website uses s so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

You can adjust all of your settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for settings.

disable

If you disable this , we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable s again.